Soul Coughing
(MR.SONIC) We're here with Doughty and Mark.
(Doughty) Hi, we're Beck. No, sorry, we're Foghat.
(SOUL-Mark) No, we're Glove Hansen.
(Doughty) YES! We are Glove Hansen. We have come to rock.
(Mandy) Where are you?
(Doughty) Nueva York.
(MR.SONIC) In the big, rat infested hell we call New York.
(Doughty) Love them rodents.
(Mango) Rats are cool...hu hu hu.
(Mandy) Can we have some money?
(Doughty) Yes, and here's our Amex #.
(MR.SONIC) So, what's the band up to these days? Recording?
(Doughty) Oh, you know, smokin', drugs.
(SOUL-Mark) Yes, rehearsing, touring, second album in March.
(MR.SONIC) What can you tell us about the next record?
(Doughty) It's going to be very, very ugly.
(SOUL-Mark) It will have two songs that aren't very good.
(Doughty) It' s not going to be pretty at all.
(RottenLun) Is it gonna rock like my cock?
(MR.SONIC) Maybe, Rotten.
(Doughty) No, it's going to rock like Mark's cock.
(MR.SONIC) Sounds like a short record.
(Doughty) No, 'Live!' like a cock. That's the working title for our live record.
(Mandy) Is AC/DC an influence?
(Doughty) Shit yeah, girl.
(SOUL-Mark) Well this is really our prog. rock stage, so the songs will be 35 minutes each.
(RottenLun) Rush?
(Mango) Cheap Trick?
(SOUL-Mark) Maybe more like Warrant.
(Doughty) I met Cheap Trick when I was thirteen. Robin Zander was snooty to me, but Guitar Freak Guy was cool. Whatever the hell his name was...Rick Nielsen!
(MR.SONIC) Rush were the kings of 35 minute songs. What ever happened to single album side epics?
(Doughty) WE'RE BRINGING IT BACK, LAD!
(Mandy) They died with Jerry.
(Doughty) Don't f*ck with Jerry, man.
(MR.SONIC) How did you all deal with Jerry's death? Did you go to Central Park?
(Doughty) I dealt with it in my own, personal manner.
(RottenLun) I masturbated with a fake beard.
(MR.SONIC) Rotten, how did you get out the tangles?
(Doughty) I think the tangles are kinda sexy, actually.
(RottenLun) Starch, and plenty of it.
(Mango) What is "Is Chicago" about?
(Doughty) Like, lyrically?
(Mango) Yeah.
(Doughty) I was tripping in Chicago, and it occurred to me that everything outside the limits of my body Is Chicago, and everything inside was not Chicago.
(Mandy) Mark, do you ever wonder what the f*ck Doughty is talking about?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(Mango) Do you like Coltrane?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(Doughty) Mark, you dick. Of course we like Coltrane. That's like asking if we don't like death.
(Mandy) What about Pamela Anderson?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(MR.SONIC) Now there's an influence.
(Doughty) That's Pamela Sue Anderson, pal.
(RottenLun) Pamela Anderson has a great set of pipes.
(SOUL-Mark) Nancy Drew rocks my world.
(MR.SONIC) What ever happened to Nancy Drew?
(Doughty) She's hanging with Sean in Malibu, G.
(Mandy) She became a yogurt chef.
(SOUL-Mark) She's playing drums with Richard Carpentar.
(MR.SONIC) Yogurt chef?
(Doughty) Man, that's cruel.
(RottenLun) Yogurt is cool.
(Mango) What do you think of the NYC music scene these days?
(Mandy) What scene?
(Doughty) Sucks. Hate it. Let's move on.
(RottenLun) Why does it suck?
(Doughty) No, really, there's decent stuff but it's all unrelated --
Cake Like, Cibo Matto, Dim Sum Club Job, Drink Me.... There's no
scene to speak of.
(RottenLun) Was the New York scene ever cool?
(Mandy) Ever hear of the Ramones, dork?
(SOUL-Mark) Or the New York dolls?
(Doughty) I don't think so; not any cooler or less cool than it is now. There's a tremendous influx of people who want to be involved in any kind of culture here. It's always more lively than any other city that's not a quote cultural capital unquote.
(Fishstix) How would you all describe your band?
(Doughty) I wouldn't. How the f*ck would you describe it?
(SOUL-Mark) Addicted to Carmex.
(Doughty) As always, Mark gets the Haiku Prize.
(Mandy) Carmex is a great lubricant.
(Doughty) Really? Wow, I would think it would engender a burning sensation. That cool mint buzz...ugh. Not very kind to sensitive areas. I've tried with Kool menthol, so I know.
(RottenLun) I prefer Soft Scrub.
(SOUL-Mark) Howz about Tiger Balm?
(Mango) What do you guys think of Tabitha Soren?
(Mandy) If she only had a brain.
(Mango) I heard she's a big fan of yours.
(SOUL-Mark) Yeah, I love Kurt Loder so much more.
(Doughty) I heard she asked Bill Clinton, after he told her he was into Thelonious Monk, "Who's the loneliest monk?" But, that could be apocryphal. You did not hear she's a big fan of ours. Where did you hear that? WHERE THE HELL IS TABITHA RIGHT NOW!?
(Fishstix) Who are your favorite authors?
(Doughty) Alan Motherf*cking Dugan. David Mamet.
(SOUL-Mark) Right now, Calvino.
(Doughty) Ntozake Shange.
(Mandy) Who's Alan Dugan?
(Doughty) The King. I'm serious. He's the f*cking man.
(chriscarm) Hello?
(Mandy) We're here with Soul Coughing and they think they're
sleuths.
(Doughty) We do not, we're just stoned.
(SOUL-Mark) Hardy Boys style.
(Doughty) Wow, this is like a Teen Mixer.
(chriscarm) I met Soul Coughing and used to email Doughty... But he
forgot me :(
(Doughty) Whoa-ho-ho.... Oh? Really?
(Michael) Saw SC in SF the last time. Whatcha gonna do here in October (musically speaking)?
(Doughty) We'll probably do loads of non-record stuff on the tour in general.... We're getting it tweaked for the next big elpee.
(MR.SONIC) This is dangerous under the influence, like operating heavy machinery.
(Doughty) We're not really stoned.
(Michael) Are you just saying you'll play new stuff next month just to get us to come to the show again? Or are you *not* lying??
(Doughty) Well, most of it we've been playing on stage for awhile. But there's a few new songs.
(Mango) Soul, did you go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
(Doughty) Hell no.
(SOUL-Mark) Yes, before it was finished (big deal).
(Doughty) I watched the HBO broadcast ... pretty pathetic. They were
having some massive monitor problem, it really looked like no one
could hear each other. Johnny Cash's guitar player kept making these
weird nods at the drummer.
(chriscarm) That rock n roll hall of fame is kinda silly looking.
(Doughty) Yeah, I think it was Jon Stewart that pointed out that it looks EXACTLY LIKE THE DAMN PYRAMID AT THE LOUVRE.
(chriscarm) Well, it's the same architect.
(Michael) Lessee, there's 14 tracks on Ruby Vroom -- how many others
are you doing live now?
(Doughty) I don't know, there's maybe ten other songs we do live, frequently. And ten others that occur from time to time.
(RottenLun) Mark, are you the guy who comes up with the weird effects?
(RottenLun) Did you record "Satan rules" backwards in any of your songs?
(SOUL-Mark) No, forwards.
(Doughty) Actually, no, we did -- at the end of "Zoom." I forgot about it; I listened to the CD the other day and was like, oh, yeah, that's right.
(Mandy) You played on John Stewart? How was it?
(Doughty) Toby Huss was on when we were on. He's insanely funny. Other than that, it was nerve-wracking for me. I had a tantrum.
(Michael) In live shows, does Mark change his samples on the fly? Or does he pretty much duplicate what's on the album?
(SOUL-Mark) On the fly and don't you forget it.
(Doughty) Yeah, everything is mutable.
(Doughty) We were gonna play with the woman that does that answering machine vocal on Janine, in New York, but it looks like we're not gonna get the chance. No time to rehearse it.
(chriscarm) That's too bad.
(Fishstix) You guys want to be famous or rich?
(Doughty) Both, now, please.
(Michael) Is he always mixed so low in the live mix? (At least he was when we saw you at the Great American in SF.)
(SOUL-Mark) Maybe a bad night, sorry.
(Doughty) The sound is less than spectacular at the Great American Music Hall.
(chriscarm) The samples were mixed perfectly in Cincinnati. Well, Bus to Beelzebub has such a great intro you need to do it loud.
(SOUL-Mark) Thank you.
(Michael) Mark, how do you choose/discover your samples? Do you have any influences in this area?
(SOUL-Mark) John Cage, Eric Satie, etc...
(chriscarm) You should sample Reservoir Dogs. Great lines in there.
(Fishstix) What do you guys think about Time/Warner's deal with Interscope? Aren't you on Warner?
(SOUL-Mark) Slash.
(Fishstix) Yeah but Slash is Warner right?
(Doughty) I think they're crazy to drop them like that. That's serious $$$, and they're giving it up for a real campaign year side issue. Ultimately, nobody's that bothered by Snoop.
(Fishstix) Does that make you feel shitty to be part of their empire?
(MR.SONIC) We're all part of their empire.
(Mango) That's true.
(Michael) Mark -- no Negativland??
(Doughty) Hey, everybody is in someone's empire. Were I an auto worker, would you ask me why I work for Ford? And their empire?
(chriscarm) That's back to the issue of "selling out."
(SOUL-Mark) Is making enough money to pay rent selling out?
(MR.SONIC) How would you define selling out?
(Doughty) Man, I'll sell to the highest goddamn bidder.
(Fishstix) Playing for money over soul.
(chriscarm) It's impossible to define. You can't say that Michael Jackson sold out because he's always been that way.
(SOUL-Mark) Selling America by the pound.
(Doughty) Mark, let's sound more like late-period Genesis.
(Fishstix) Stone Temple Pilots.
(chriscarm) STP was put together by a label.
(Doughty) Oh, c'mon; STP is just a rock band. What, like they used
to be Public Enemy or something?
(SOUL-Mark) At one time he was the most talented dude on the scene.
(chriscarm) [laughs] I dunno, rumor has it.
(Doughty) No, they weren't put together by Atlantic, though the label asked them to change their name from Mighty Joe Young, for copyright reasons.
(Mandy) Doughty, are you still dating Maggie Estep?
(Doughty) [silence]
(Mandy) Does that mean you're available?
(Doughty) Nah. Maggie and I broke up in the spring.
(chriscarm) That's too bad.
(Doughty) More or less.
(chriscarm) Watch out, Courtney Love might come after you.
(Doughty) M or F? M or F?. Oh, Courtney could find a prettier boy
than I.
(Doughty) Plus, Courtney hates hip hop. Wouldn't work.
(RottenLun) Who would you rather jam with? Miles or Marley?
(Mango) Marley.
(Doughty) Miles, but with the Wailers...the version that included Junior Murvin on guitar.
(MR.SONIC) How about Styx or Journey?
(Mandy) Styx all the way.
(Doughty) JOURNEY!
(SOUL-Mark) So Mandy, I sang in a choir for Barry Manilow once.
(chriscarm) I saw Styx's singer do Jesus Christ Superstar. He was
Jesus, and had an amazing voice.
(Doughty) Domo Arigato, B.
(SOUL-Mark) I saw the Babys open for Styx.
(Mango) What year?
(SOUL-Mark) 1979?
(Doughty) Man, you get more cool points than you know what to do with.
(Mandy) What do you think of the REO reunion?
(Doughty) You're kidding me!
(RottenLun) Heard it from a friend.
(Doughty) I'm with it, I'm all the way with it.
(SOUL-Mark) I saw the Rockets open for REO in LA once.
(MR.SONIC) Yeah, REO played with Pat Benatar at Jones beach, I think.
(Doughty) I saw Peter Tork open up for Joan Jett. Solo!
(chriscarm) Wasn't Joan Jett making a comeback recently?
(Doughty) Comeback is an interesting and subjective word. If I hang
out with Kathleen Hanna, am I making a comeback? Mark, did you ever
see Bikini Kill open for REO?
(chriscarm) REO, ELO, BTO.
(SOUL-Mark) ELP.
(Doughty) NWA. JFA.
(chriscarm) How did you get the name Soul Coughing ?
(Doughty) From a poem about Neil Young throwing up that I wrote.
Poem sucked, cool title. Like that.
(RottenLun) Who's the coolest artist you've met since you've been a band?
(Doughty) I met Sonya Aurora Madan from Echobelly today!
(Doughty) Did a joint interview. Damn cool.
(Fishstix) Is she hot?
(Doughty) She rules my personal earth.
(Mango) You smoked a joint at the interview?
(Doughty) Nah, she had a cold and refused. But, her odd Swedish guitar player got stoned.
(Doughty) There was a photo session afterwards, and Sonya and I replicated the RUN-DMC 1986 Fresh pose. It was the high point of my week.
(Mango) What's the pose?
(Doughty) Back to back, one arm crossed, one hand under the chin.
(chriscarm) When is the new album expected?
(SOUL-Mark) March.
(Michael) I saw Soul Coughing open for Jeff Buckley once -- but we
left after the opener to see Painkiller at another club.
(Doughty) Painkiller? Wow.
(Michael) Yeah, Painkiller at Slim's -- had to be much better than Jeff Buckley.
(chriscarm) [laughs]
(SOUL-Mark) Of course.
(chriscarm) Doughty, you should wear a big clock around your neck in concert. :)
(Doughty) No, man. I'm strictly old school.
(RottenLun) Who would win in a fight? You guys or REM?
(Doughty) Oh, us. Easy. I can take that punk Bill Berry any day.
(chriscarm) REM's more passive. But Mike Mills isn't a small guy.
(Michael) What do you guys do for recreation? Bowling? Golf? Midget wrestling?
(SOUL-Mark) Pole vaulting.
(Mango) Excessive masturbation.
(Doughty) Mark is being serious.
(Doughty) "Excessive." What a limited viewpoint.
(Fishstix) What comes first, music or words?
(Doughty) The Egg.
(SOUL-Mark) The only unnatural act is the one that can't be performed.
(Doughty) Oh, how the mind reels with potential experiments!
(Fishstix) Where's your favorite late night snack in New York?
(Doughty) I'm deep on Veselka.
(SOUL-Mark) Samurai Sushi on Sullivan.
(Fishstix) 2nd Avenue Deli.
(Doughty) The mushroom barley is the joint. I'm into the Polish thing.
(Mandy) What magazines do you all read?
(Doughty) I read Sassy before it died.
(RottenLun) Rolling Stone or Spin?
(SOUL-Mark) Turkey hunting.
(Doughty) I read all manner of Junk Culture.
(chriscarm) Handguns & Ammo.
(Doughty) I'm addicted to that shit and the E! Network.
(Fishstix) Do you watch the Stern show?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(Doughty) Nah, but I'm all over TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes.
(MR.SONIC) Midnight Blue?
(SOUL-Mark) Yes.
(chriscarm) Real Stories of the Highway Patrol rules.
(Doughty) Just the ads for The Dungeon.
(Michael) What's the deal on the new EP? I just heard the remix of
Sugar Free Jazz on college FM, what else is on it?
(Doughty) Two other mixes of Sugar Free, and a live remix we did of
Screenwriter's.
(Michael) Screenwriter's with new samples on the fly? (Heh heh.)
(SOUL-Mark) Yes.
(Doughty) Love that deep manly voice.
(MR.SONIC) What ever happened to Voyeur Vision?
(Doughty) All kinds of screwy shit on that tune.
(Mango) Is the remix album out because the other ones just not done yet?
(Doughty) Yeah, basically.
(Fishstix) Suckers.
(SOUL-Mark) No, promo for Sugar Free as a single.
(Doughty) We write a whole lot. Sadly, there's not a whole lot of space in The Modern Industry for prolific types like us.
(Mango) Do you have much money from your record?
(Doughty) We're ROLLIN' IN DOUGH!
(chriscarm) No, they give all their money to the Save Sunny Day Fund.
(SOUL-Mark) Yes.
(Doughty) Straight up. Ouch.
(Mandy) Is it a misconception that I can quit my day job if I get a record deal?
(SOUL-Mark) Yes.
(Doughty) No, we don't have day jobs. But, we're damned po'. Well, not crazy po', but po'.
(Mandy) Does it f*ck with your head having to struggle?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(Doughty) Nah, it's better this way than, say, as a waiter.
(RottenLun) Just sell crack.
(chriscarm) Mark, are you preoccupied, or is Doughty a better typist?
(Doughty) I'm just smoking crack, that's all.
(Michael) I caught your appearance on late night TV (Jon Stewart?) Any more coming up?
(SOUL-Mark) No.
(Fishstix) How's the drug scene in NY these days? I'm calling from Sweden.
(Doughty) Scene? Is there a drug scene here? Can someone give me directions?
(SOUL-Mark) Drugs are abundant.
(Fishstix) I've never been to New York but want to come and go crazy.
(MR.SONIC) You'll have plenty of company, fish.
(Fishstix) Have you guys ever had to deal with shit to get your video on MTV?
(Doughty) It's on Beavis and Butthead right now, which is beyond surreal. They came to a split decision.
(Mandy) Have you ever met them?
(Doughty) Beavis Yay, Butthead Nay.
(Michael) Hey, D. -- Blue-eyed Devil is really about Sinatra, right? (ha)
(Mango) What do you think of the new Knitting Factory?
(Doughty) [uncomfortable silence]
(SOUL-Mark) Yeah, just ask the chin.
(Doughty) Like it, actually. Cool space.
(SOUL-Mark) Much, much better place.
(Mango) Did you go to the MacFest there?
(Doughty) I miss the old joint for nostalgia purposes. There's a record store where the performance space used to be; I went there, and remembered all the marks on the floor I used to have to sweep dust out of. Very weird.
(Fishstix) Soul Coughing, when are you coming to Europe?
(Doughty) We're not coming back to Europe 'til next year.
(SOUL-Mark) In the spring, been there four times since January.
(Doughty) Never to Sweden, though.
(RottenLun) How stoned are you guys now?
(SOUL-Mark) Not enough.
(Doughty) I'm actually not stoned, myself. I'm just trying to look cool.
(chriscarm) Why not Sweden?
(Doughty) Don't know -- we've been all over Denmark. Though, the Swedes, being Scandinavians, are My people.
(chriscarm) You should write a tune about chatting on the computer with people from Sweden and Ohio.
(Doughty) Done it. Next!
(Fishstix) Don't knock the Midnight sun dude.
(Doughty) If the van is rockin', don't come knockin'.
(chriscarm) Ever see those condom poems?
(Doughty) Nope.
(chriscarm) If the van starts rockin', your dick needs a tockin'. Stockin'.
(Doughty) A tockin' is much more poetic.
(Fishstix) See you guys soon. I hope. I must go, it's very late here.
(Doughty) Maybe so. Hope so.
(Fishstix) Bye.
(SOUL-Mark) Caio.
(Doughty) Okay, any Final Important Questions?
(chriscarm) When are you coming back to Cincinnati?
(Michael) Is Chicago?
(Mango) What is the meaning of life?
(chriscarm) And when are you going to do email again?
(Doughty) Oh, please.
(Mandy) Drink beer.
(RottenLun) That's simple, yet elegant, Mandy.
(Doughty) I don't actually drink beer.
(chriscarm) Chicago/Not Chicago = To Be or Not To Be?
(Doughty) We're kinda inundated with it -- it's hard for me to write back to everyone. Mark does it as well, and it's still a lot to handle.
(chriscarm) That's understandable.
(Mango) See you all next time you come to Atlanta.
(SOUL-Mark) Hotlanta
(Doughty) HOTLANTA! Somebody f*cking reamed me on alt.music.alternative, re: Chicago, screaming on me that I dared appropriate an idea from Descartes.
(chriscarm) Yeah, I saw that. A.M.A is very cruel and harsh, and not rightly so.
(SOUL-Mark) Descartes was wrong!
(Doughty) I think, therefore f*ck you, pal!
(chriscarm) You guys gotta come to Cinci ASAP. We'll make you burritos. And chocolate milkshakes.
(Doughty) We're gonna be in...Toledo? Something like that. Though we realize it's not the same.
(Michael) Mark, you musta sampled that last remark from the Beatles?
(Doughty) Genius.
(SOUL-Mark) Do people live in Toledo? Nice air.
(MR.SONIC) Okay, thanks for hanging out guys.... Come back anytime.
(SOUL-Mark) Thanks a lot, see you next time you are nice enough to have us.
(Doughty) Very cool to be here and to see you all.
(SOUL-Mark) Bye Michael.
(chriscarm) Yeah, this was killer, I missed you last time you named your funky little devil. Anyway, thanks again, looking forward to the new album.
(Michael) Bye, and thanks for sharing!
(Doughty) Cool, y'all.
(chriscarm) See ya, take care. Now I gotta learn how to quit.
(Michael) Don't forget to write.
(Doughty) One love, goodnight.